MIAMI — FIU's men's basketball program continues its tough non-conference slate to open the 2023-24 season with a road matchup at the 13th-ranked University of Miami on Monday night at 7 p.m. in Coral Gables.
The Panthers and Head Coach Jeremy Ballard are looking to bounce back after falling in their first two games of the season, to UCF on the road and in their home opener to Tarleton State.
Arturo Dean and Jonathan Aybar both produced solid scoring efforts in the loss to TSU with 14 points each. Jayden Brewer joined them in double-figures with 10 points off the bench, adding four rebounds and three steals.
"We get the opportunity to play Miami on Monday," said Ballard. "We have to go earn what we say we want."
FIU will be taking on the Hurricanes to begin a whirlwind week of competition which features a contest at Houston Christian on Wednesday, Nov. 15 and a trip to the Cayman Islands Classic following that. The Panthers will take on Akron to open their time in the tropics on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m.
SCOUTING UM
Miami enters this tilt with a top-15 national ranking and returning a large crop of the lineup that advanced to the Final Four in 2022. Head Coach Jim Larranaga's bunch is off to a 2-0 start with wins over NJIT and UCF.
Wooga Poplar made all five of his three-point attempts in UM's victory over UCF, leading the Hurricanes with 23 points. Norchad Omier scored 19 in support and grabbed 12 rebounds. In total, UM had five double-digit scorers as Bensley Joseph, Matthew Cleveland and Nijel Pack all eclipsed the 10-point mark.
Series History: UM leads 5-0, last matchup in 2008
